Royal Highland Show...which class/es??

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el_Snowflakes

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Hi guys,

so I am hoping to show my mare this year at the RHS. She is a Belgian warmblood (Belgian sporthorse branded) She has great conformation and movement and is very well bred. She is 15 years old but still looks/acts like a young girlie! Im new to showing so I would be interested in doing a ridden class which doesnt require jumping and/or an inhand showing class. Im thinking maybe sport horse-but not sure what is required in this class? Any suggestions/advice would be really appreciated :)

here she is.....

P1040410-Copy.jpg


showing off her moves in the field....

i-Copy-1.jpg


and lastly, winning some rosettes at a local show....:)
P1040455-Copy-Copy3.jpg
 
She's beautiful!!! I am old to showing now - used to show with my old gelding years ago but haven't done any since so not particularly well up on any of the classes they have now. I would think something like riding horse classes? Or do they involve a jump in those sometimes?
 
Sorry, just me again!! Just looked at the 2011 schedule for a guide to their classes and you could either do hunter or sport horse class (but not both). How about Mediumweight hunter? Although I think she would be perfect for a Sport horse class. Good luck anyway!!!
 
At 15 they can do veteran classes not sure if theyve got that there. You can do both in hand and ridden. Have a look on the VHS website for details.
 
Not all Ridden Horse classes have a jump. I believe Ridden Horse and Riding Club Horse are two different classes.
I did Ridden Horse - no jump. But different venues have different schedules.

She would do well in the Vetrans - but again depends on the age. Some local shows the age is over 16yo.

Or there are Tack and Turnout and Best Condition, Any Age Any Breed.
 
I suggest getting a lesson with a showing person who really knows their stuff. RHS is big and buzzy and a pretty high level around here, so you'll want to know exactly what to expect, to wear and how to present your rather lovely horse. They'd also be able to give you some advice about classes.

As you're very much jumping in at the deep end, you may also want to consider attending things like the grandslam, scottish friends of ponies UK etc. to get some practise and judge feedback on classes.

Otherwise - how tall is your horse and what age were you on the 1st of January 2012?
 
There definately isn't any veteran classes at the RHS unfortunately and its very limited ridden classes wise.
As MissSBird says in CR i'm not sure she really is typey enough for any of the classes there are, much as she's really lovely
 
I can say really as there are no picutres of her without boots on.

If she has thin legs you could show her in Riding horse classes, If she has some bone then small/lightweight Hunter might be a good idea for her but without seeing her standing, no tack on and no boots on there is no way to advise you.
 
Hi :) Looking through last years catalogue, the sports horse classes were for broodmares, foals and youngsock in hand, and a ridden Potential Sports Horse class for 4/5yo. The Royal Highland doesn't have anything like veteran or riding club horse classes.
You would be limited to the choice between the hunter classes, including working hunter (the course is HUGE) or riding horse.
The light horse class entries are generally around £30 - £40, or a little less if you are a member, (it was about £28 in 2010 when I entered an in hand M&M class as a member). The schedules get sent out quite soon so you would need to email the RHASS (google Royal Highland Show) to ask the show office to send you one. :)
 
Thanks again for all your replies :)

heres a pic of her without tack/boots......sorry its not the greatest as you cant get a v good look at her feet!!
IMGP3636.jpg


ETA: Thats not a scar on the inside of her hindleg but a cut which she did in the field, dozy mare!
 
What Height is she??

To me she looks like a hunter either small if less than 15.3hh or lightweight if more than that :)

I think she is a bit like my mare who is inbetween hunter and riding horse legs wise but body type is more riding horse so i show her as such.

Riding horse type
http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=ri...&tbnw=207&start=0&ndsp=16&ved=1t:429,r:14,s:0

Lightweight hunter type

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=li...&tbnw=152&start=0&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:14,s:0

I think you may need to cut and paste the link into the address bar :)
 
It's safe to say that you are looking at an entry fee of well over £100 by the time you enter the show, join the relevent associations etc. To do either the Hunter or Riding Horse classes you need to become a member of either society - which costs around £60 a pop. These are HOYS qualifying classes so you MUST be a member, you can't go on a Day Ticket. The Show itself will cost £45-£48 per class to enter. That's before RHS membership which is another £40 odd. You will be up against the best of the best. The judge WILL ride your horse. Hunters take place in the main ring at a very busy time and even the sanest of horses can sometimes not cope with it. The Riding Horses are in the smaller jumping ring but if anything that has more buzz and atmosphere because it is right next to the shopping lines and the airport is more evident from there than the Main Ring.

If you are going to go then get some lessons from a showing pro before hand as this isn't some little local riding club show, this is a Royal show with major qualifiers.
 
EKW said:
It's safe to say that you are looking at an entry fee of well over £100 by the time you enter the show, join the relevent associations etc. To do either the Hunter or Riding Horse classes you need to become a member of either society - which costs around £60 a pop. These are HOYS qualifying classes so you MUST be a member, you can't go on a Day Ticket. The Show itself will cost £45-£48 per class to enter. That's before RHS membership which is another £40 odd. You will be up against the best of the best. The judge WILL ride your horse. Hunters take place in the main ring at a very busy time and even the sanest of horses can sometimes not cope with it. The Riding Horses are in the smaller jumping ring but if anything that has more buzz and atmosphere because it is right next to the shopping lines and the airport is more evident from there than the Main Ring.

If you are going to go then get some lessons from a showing pro before hand as this isn't some little local riding club show, this is a Royal show with major qualifiers.
Click to expand...

never did I suggest it was 'some little riding club show' but you only live once and you dont get anywhere if you dont give things a shot ;)

ETA: I would welcome the judge to ride her as shes very well behaved and lovely to ride :)
 
Last edited:
Black Beastie said:
What Height is she??

To me she looks like a hunter either small if less than 15.3hh or lightweight if more than that :)

I think she is a bit like my mare who is inbetween hunter and riding horse legs wise but body type is more riding horse so i show her as such.

Riding horse type
http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=ri...&tbnw=207&start=0&ndsp=16&ved=1t:429,r:14,s:0

Lightweight hunter type

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=li...&tbnw=152&start=0&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:14,s:0

I think you may need to cut and paste the link into the address bar :)
Click to expand...

thanks blackbeastie shes 16hh :)
 
Sorry, I'm not meaning to be rude but if you don't know if there are jumps involved in the class or not clearly shows that you haven't got much of an idea what you are letting yourself in for. I would honestly suggest you go and watch this year so you don't end up diving it at the deep end.
 
She is lovely, but am not sure she fits Riding horse or LW hunter - possibly more LW but not really a LW hunter type -
This is a true type of RH (and owned by FMM! :))
http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=th...4&tbnw=192&start=0&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0

And this is a LW hunter
http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=Li...&w=448&h=299&ei=mZQlT-WHLcqp8QP8u-HCBw&zoom=1

As you can see your lovely girl dosen't really fall into either category - maybe try one of the less high profile shows & enter both classes and see what the judges think :)
You could enter the working hunter, I think at RHS the course is 1.15m?
 
Go for it ! There's nothing like the feeling of being there in the main ring, and competing against some of the top producers in the UK and Ireland ! I'd rather miss a few other shows to be able to go to the Royal Highland. The experience alone is worth the money it costs :D.
Do you live within easy travelling distance of the showground, and do you have your own transport ? That would save the cost of overnight stabling on or near the showground. Hired transport gets booked up well in advance.
There are yards nearby who may be able to do overnight stabling, I keep my two 20 minutes drive from the show :). My YO HAS stabled visiting horses/ponies overnight before for competitions ;).
Membership this year is £60, with a £20 joining fee for new members. The joining fee is waived if you pay by direct debit, you get reduced show entries, and the show office posts your 4 day ticket set out to you. (Show admission this year at the gate is £25/person/day ). I'm a member and my direct debit is taken in the first week of January every year :).
If you email livestock@rhass.org.uk to request a schedule/entry form, leave your name and full postal address, and they will send the forms out to you as soon as they are available. Entries for the Light Horse section closed on 7th April last year. The show does not accept late entries.
Classes - Hunters In Hand (8 am on the Thursday) - last year these were for Broodmares with foal at foot, yearlings, 2 year olds and 3 year olds. No classes there for your mare.
Hunters Under Saddle - Working Hunters (HOYS Qualifier) - 7.45 am on the Thursday (in the jumping ring (ring 6)).
Novice Hunter - Lightweight Mare or Gelding, 4yo and over - 9am on the Thursday (Main Ring), followed by the novice middleweight/heavyweight.
Lightweight Mare or Gelding 4yo and over (HOYS Q) - 12.15pm on the Thursday (Main Ring), and the Middleweight, Heavyweight and Small classes each follow on from the Lightweights. Height limit for the Small Hunters is 158cm (15.2hh), and in the weights, the judge can move horses up to the next weight section if they need to.
Riding Horses - 3pm on the Friday (Ring 6 (jumping ring)).
Starts with Novice Mare or Gelding, followed by Small Riding Horse (exceeding 148cm but not exceeding 158cm), followed by Large Riding Horse (exceeding 158cm). The Large and Small Riding Horse classes were HOYS Qualifiers.
Entries last year were £45 (members paid £25.05) for the Novice Hunters and £55.50 (members paid £34.55) for the HOYS Qualifiers (Working Hunter, weight classes and small hunters).
The Riding Horse classes last year were £37.80 (members paid £19.85) for the Novice, and £47.80 (members paid £30.35) for the Small and Large Riding Horses (HOYS Q).
You can download a copy of last years schedule from the show's website to give you an idea of what's involved. It's a pdf file, here's a link (hope it's allowed, to help a fellow competitor :)).
http://royalhighlandshow.org/assets/downloads/Horses_Driving_Turnouts_SCHEDULE.pdf
So, you have your entry fee + transport + stabling if needed + money for food and shopping. Your entry fee gives you admission to the show ground on the day you are competing, you get wristbands (2 for 1 entry) which gets you in,and to and from the stabling/lorry park all day. People without wristbands are not allowed access to the stabling/lorry park. You also get a pass for the lorry park although I think there's a parking fee too (the fee pays the attendants who stand there all day, every day, whatever the weather, trying to keep the parking "sensible" and orderly for all (there's always the ones who make a fuss instead of just parking where directed, and holding everyone else up :rolleyes:).
I hope this helps, and isn't too confusing (or long :o).
If she were mine, I'd enter her for the Novice or Lightweight Hunter (or Working Hunter if you are used to big courses with water ;)).
 
If you are set on doing the RHS, having shown there for the last 5 years, I would do the Novice Lightweight Hunters with your mare. She's not fine or "pretty pretty" enough to be a riding horse. She's not really a hunter either, but she is nearer a LW Hunter than any other show type. This is technically for horses which haven't won much in showing, and isn't a HOYS qualifier taking place in the main ring (it takes place in the working hunter ring after the workers). Even though its a Novice class, its a very high standard and if your horse isn't a show type with impeccable manners, you may feel rather out of place. It also tends to be mainly younger horses in it, in fact most show horses tend to be quite young, teens is reasonably rare. Being called in last can be a little soul destroying if you put a huge amount of effort in.

There are no Riding Club Horse, veteran classes or Novice Working Hunter at the RHS.

I would suggest doing some local shows first and if you are winning regularly there, it might be worth entering. The trouble is, entries have to be in by I think from memory April sometime so you won't get much of a chance to get her out to test her by then. I think it should be around £25-30 for the entry fee for the class and for non HOYS qualifiers, that should be it (I don't think you need your one off show registration with SHB(GB) for non HOYS qualifiers even, although it costs £10). You don't have to be a member to enter a class, it is simply slightly cheaper for members. You could do Ayr or Fife Shows before the RHS, if you are down the line there then you might decide not to do RHS.

The Novice RH takes place in the side jumping ring, which is next to the airport, with planes taking off and landing constantly. It can be quite unsettling for some horses. The main ring, where the non Novice Hunter classes take place, is even more unsettling but a lovely big ring to ride in. But in those classes, even more so than the Novices, you are up against real showing professionals, the ones you see in H&H every week.

For the Workers, you need a less perfect show type of horse, but its 1.15 and wide too. If you aren't jumping say for example Newcomers comfortably on grass then you might find it a bit intimidating. That said, there are traditionally a lot of people who simply have a go in the Workers if they have a good, bold jumper, and getting round is a good achievement. There are often not all that many clears.
 
I've just copied and pasted this from my above post incase it got lost in my long ramble :p

Entries last year were £45 (members paid £25.05) for the Novice Hunters and...

£55.50 (members paid £34.55) for the HOYS Qualifiers (Working Hunter, weight classes and small hunters).
The Riding Horse classes last year were £37.80 (members paid £19.85) for the Novice, and...
£47.80 (members paid £30.35) for the Small and Large Riding Horses (HOYS Q).
You can download a copy of last years schedule from the show's website to give you an idea of what's involved.

Can I ask a question ?
There seems to be a lack of classes for Ridden Sports Horses other than 4/5yo potential ridden. Why don't sports horse owners ask show organisers to hold classes for older sports horse types ?
At the RHS in 2002, I had a 3yo coloured cob gelding in an in hand youngstock class. The judge stated that it was impossible to judge such a huge variety of types together, and could we all ask the RHS to split the coloured classes into different types. In this class, there was every type imaginable from mini shetland to huge warmblood, and about 30 entries !. If I remember correctly, there were only 3 in hand classes and 2 ridden. Now, the RHS has 10 classes for coloureds ! 4 ridden HOYS qualifiers and 6 in hand CHAPS UK qualifiers. The classes are now judged by age, height and type sections, where before it was just age and ridden or in hand.
Surely, there must be hundreds of sports horses out there owned by amateur owners (so not necessarily doing affiliated eventing, showjumping or dressage), who would enjoy the opportunity to be able to show at a large county show like the Royal Highland. There are classes for sports horse broodmares, and for youngsters up to 4/5yo, so why not for the older sports horses which the OP's horse is :confused:
 
The Highland are getting there with adding new classes but they need to know that they will be supported first before including them. If the 4/5yo Ridden Sports Horse class proves hugely popular then they may add one for older horses but if there are a lack of entries then it is a waste of time and money to put on other classes.

To be honest I think they need Cob and Hack classes before they need more Sports Horse classes. My own opinion though and I show in none of these sections so they don't affect me anywho.
 
They used to have hack classes at the RHS, but had very few entries. I don't remember ever seeing cob classes though.
They are quite good with adding new classes if there is a demand for them. Last year, they had side saddle and a ridden Clydesdale class.
TBH, I personally know of more people in this area who own warmbloods or sports horse types than anything else.
This wouldn't affect me either as I have M&M's, but it would be great to see some of my sports horse/warmblood owning friends having the opportunity to show their horses at the RHS. At local shows, they can enter RC horse, WH, and some even do well in hunter classes.
The sports horse classes at the RHS are well attended, and the Potential Ridden 4/5yo Sports Horse class had 13 entries. I'm sure a class for older ridden sports horses would be popular :)
 
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